One is built in. One you open.
This is less of a head-to-head than it looks. Apple Intelligence lives inside the apps you already use and mostly works without being summoned. Meta AI is a panel you call up over them. They overlap in exactly two places and most people end up running both without ever deciding to.
Independent guide not affiliated with Meta or Apple. Apple Intelligence features vary by region and language and have expanded over time; Apple's own pages are the current source.
They are not the same kind of thing
Comparing these two like rival apps produces a confusing answer, because they sit at different layers of the machine. Apple Intelligence is ambient: it is part of macOS on supported Macs, it shows up inside Mail and Notes and any text field as an option you can take, and there is nothing to install or sign into. You do not open it. You notice it.
Meta AI is summoned. It is a separate 16 MB app with its own account, its own panel and its own keyboard shortcut, and it does nothing until you call it. In exchange it will hold an open-ended conversation, look at a window you hand it, and type into any app you like none of which is what Apple's layer is aimed at.
Ambient help is best when you already know what you want done to the thing in front of you. A summoned assistant is best when you have a question rather than an edit.
That distinction predicts the day-to-day split better than any feature list. Selecting a paragraph and asking for it to be tightened is an edit, and the built-in tools do it in place with no context switch. Asking why a spreadsheet's numbers moved, or dictating three paragraphs into a reply, is a different sort of request, and that is where the separate app earns its place. Our review found the same split held over three weeks.
How the two compare on a Mac
Apple Intelligence's feature set varies by region and language and has grown across macOS releases, so we describe its shape and leave the current specifics to Apple.
| Meta AI for Mac | Apple Intelligence | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An app A separate download with its own account and panel. | Part of macOS Built in on supported Macs; nothing to install. |
| How you reach it | You summon it ⌥Space over whatever you are doing. Shortcuts. | It appears Inside the app you are already in, as an option. |
| Mac requirements | Apple silicon M-series and macOS 15 or later. In full. | Apple silicon Also excludes Intel Macs. The same wall. |
| Price | Free Limits on image and video generation. What meters. | Included Part of the OS; nothing separate to buy. |
| Rewriting selected text | In a panel Paste it in, take the version you prefer. | In place Writing Tools edit the text where it sits. |
| Open-ended conversation | Its whole job Follow-ups, long threads, history across devices. | Limited Aimed at tasks rather than extended chat. |
| Asking about a window | Attach one Snapshot plus its text. How it works. | Not in that form Help is scoped to the app's own content. |
| Dictation into any app | Yes Needs Accessibility. The feature we kept. | macOS dictation Separate, built in, and its own shortcut. |
| Image generation | Yes Via Muse Image, with free-tier limits. | Its own tools Playful and constrained rather than general-purpose. |
| Where processing happens | Meta's servers Everything, which is why it needs a connection. | Often on-device With Private Cloud Compute for larger tasks. More. |
| Permissions it asks for | Three Screen Recording, Accessibility, Microphone. What they grant. | None separately It is the operating system. |
| Best single reason to use it | Conversation, screen questions and dictation into anything. | Editing what is already in front of you, with no context switch. |
Meta AI details come from our own three weeks with the 1.0 beta. Apple Intelligence availability differs by country, language and Mac model, and Apple has added capabilities across releases check Apple's own documentation for what is live for you.
They genuinely overlap in two places
Most of the two feature sets do not compete at all. Two things do, and they are worth understanding because they are the only places you will find yourself picking.
Rewriting text. Apple's Writing Tools work on a selection, in place, inside whatever app you are in no copying, no window switch, and the result replaces what you had. Meta AI works in its panel: you paste, you ask, you read several options, you take one back. Apple's is faster for a tidy-up. Meta AI's is better when you want to argue with the result, ask for a different tone, or explain who it is for.
In-place edit versus a conversation about the edit. If you know what you want, the built-in tools win on friction every time.
Voice. macOS has had dictation for years and Apple Intelligence sits alongside it; Meta AI ships its own. Both put text into apps, which means both can be running at once and that is the single most common source of confusion we see, because two systems responding to two different shortcuts feels like one system misbehaving. If dictation is producing odd results, checking which dictation you actually triggered is the first thing to do. The troubleshooting page covers telling them apart.
Where the work happens, and why it matters
This is the one comparison where the gap is architectural rather than a matter of features, and it is the reason a lot of people choose one over the other.
Apple's position is that a good deal of Apple Intelligence runs on the Mac itself, and that requests too large for the device go to what it calls Private Cloud Compute under a set of stated privacy commitments. Whether or not you take that at face value, the architecture is different in kind from an assistant that runs entirely on a company's servers and it is why some of this works with no connection at all.
Meta AI has no on-device layer. Everything you ask goes to Meta, because that is where the model lives, and Meta separately states that interactions with its AI features can be used to improve its models. We summarise that position and label it as Meta's own account rather than something we have verified.
If keeping work off other people's servers matters to you, this is not a close comparison and it is a reason to use the built-in tools for sensitive text even if you prefer Meta AI for everything else.
Worth being even-handed about the limits of that, though. Both descriptions above come from the companies that wrote them, neither is independently audited by us, and “on-device” is a claim about where computation happens rather than a guarantee about everything a product does. Read both policies; they are the only authoritative sources.
Running both, and giving each one a lane
There is no conflict to manage beyond dictation. Apple Intelligence is already there; the only question is whether Meta AI earns a place alongside it.
You are editing what is in front of you
- Tightening, proofreading or shortening a selection you have already written.
- Summarising something inside the app that holds it, without moving anything.
- The text is sensitive and you would rather it did not leave the Mac.
- You want zero friction no shortcut, no panel, no switching.
You have a question, not an edit
- You want a conversation: follow-ups, a different tone, an explanation of the change.
- You want to ask about a window a chart, a spreadsheet, an error message.
- You want to dictate several paragraphs into any app rather than type them.
- You want images generated, or you are already living in Meta's apps.
One practical tip if you keep both: decide which dictation you want and turn the other off. Two voice systems on one Mac is the most reliable way to convince yourself that something is broken. If it already has.
Comparison questions
Do I need Meta AI if I already have Apple Intelligence?
They do different jobs. Apple's layer appears inside your apps for edits and summaries; Meta AI is a summoned assistant for conversation, questions about a window, and dictation into anything. If you want both kinds of help, you end up with both. The framing.
Where do they actually overlap?
Two places: rewriting text, where Apple's tools edit in place and Meta AI works in a panel you can argue with; and voice, where macOS and Meta AI each have their own dictation. Both explained.
Which is more private?
Structurally, Apple Intelligence. Apple says much of it runs on the Mac with larger tasks going to Private Cloud Compute; Meta AI sends everything to Meta's servers because that is where the assistant runs. Both descriptions are each company's own. The detail.
Do they have the same Mac requirements?
Broadly, and this catches people out: both need Apple silicon. An Intel Mac is excluded from Meta AI's app entirely and from Apple Intelligence too, so updating macOS does not rescue either. What Intel owners can do.
Can both respond to the same keyboard shortcut?
Not to the same press macOS gives a shortcut to one owner. But macOS dictation and Meta AI's dictation are separate features with separate shortcuts, and having both on is a common reason people think one is misbehaving. Sorting shortcuts out.
Is Apple Intelligence free?
It is part of macOS on supported Macs, so there is nothing separate to buy. Meta AI's Mac app is also free, with limits that bite mainly on image and video generation. Neither is a paid decision unless you generate media in volume.
Which is better for asking about what is on screen?
Meta AI, because it has that feature and Apple's layer does not offer it in the same form. You attach one window and it reads a snapshot plus the text. Apple's help is scoped to the content of the app you are already in. How attaching works.
Does Apple Intelligence work offline?
Some of it, by design, because some tasks run on the Mac. Meta AI does not work offline at all the assistant is on Meta's servers, so no connection means no answers. That difference shows up on a plane long before it shows up in a feature comparison.
Is Apple Intelligence available everywhere?
Not uniformly. Its features have rolled out across regions, languages and macOS releases at different speeds, which is a familiar story Meta AI has the same shape of problem. Check Apple for your region, and our availability page for Meta's side of it.
Will Apple's built-in tools make Meta AI redundant?
For editing text, arguably already. For open-ended conversation, screen questions and dictation into any app, not yet those are different products aimed at different moments. If Apple closes that gap the calculation changes, and we will update this page when it does.
Not rivals. Different layers.
Use the built-in tools for edits in place, and a summoned assistant for questions, screens and voice. Most Macs end up with both.
Independent guide not affiliated with Meta or Apple. Apple Intelligence capabilities vary by region, language and release; Apple's own documentation is the current source. Check your Mac.